The Coronary Care Unit at the Karlovac General Hospital was opened in 1978. Several generations of medical staff have been educated there with the cooperation of numerous Clinics in Zagreb. Developments in medicine and technological advancements have been followed and implemented over the years with the goal of providing adequate care for cardiological patients.
Koronarna jedinica u karlovačkoj bolnici otvorena je 1978. godine. U suradnji s više klinika u Zagrebu provedena je edukacija više generacija medicinskog osoblja. Tijekom godina praćen je razvoj medicinske struke i tehničkih dostignuća sa svrhom adekvatne skrbi za kardiološke bolesnike.
The beginning of the development of the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) in Karlovac can be traced back to 1977 when the Karlovac Medical Center, the Karlovac Weekly, and Radio Karlovac initiated the “Dinar za srce” volunteer action. In addition to collecting funds, education of medical staff was also begun. The initial education for nurses was conducted at the University Hospital Centre (UHC) Zagreb and UHC “Sestre milosrdnice” and lasted between three to six months.
Professional and organizational efforts led to the opening of the CCU in the Karlovac hospital on August 1, 1978. It comprised three beds separated by screens and equipped with monitors and two defibrillators. Six nurses were trained to staff it and worked in single-nurse shifts.
Noteworthy years in the further work and development of the CCU include 1986, when the first temporary pacemaker was implanted.
The unit was renovated and modernized in 1990. The first permanent pacemaker implantation was performed in 2001. Over the years, this procedure became a regular part of the work of our staff, and in the last few years we performed approximately 80 such procedures per year on average. At our institution, this procedure is performed in cooperation with the Surgery Department and the Vascular Surgery Ward.
Since 2005, the Karlovac General Hospital (GH) has been included in the Croatian Network for Interventional Treatment of Acute Myocardial Infarction at the level of the Republic of Croatia and has since then been closely cooperating with the UHC “Sestre milosrdnice”.
The acquisition of a respirator in 2009 allowed us to provide care and management for patients with respiratory insufficiency.
Over the course of 2010, three nurses completed education for diagnostic coronarography thanks to cooperation with the University Hospital Dubrava, and this procedure was performed in the Karlovac GH for the first time in the same year.
Since 2015, the Cardiology Department and the CCU together with the postcoronary care unit have been integrated into one Department under the name Cardiology Department and Coronary Care Unit.
The Intensive Care Unit can currently accept four patients with vital function monitoring after invasive procedures, with the option of adding an additional bed. There are four monitors connected to a central unit from which six additional patients can be monitored through a telemetry system covering the whole Department.
The CCU is equipped with three defibrillators, two external temporary pacemaker devices, two temporary endocardial heart stimulators, one aspirator and one respirator, two ECG devices, and six infusion pumps.
The CCU employs two nurses with a bachelor’s degree and six nurses who are also in charge of the postcoronary care unit.